Rev 21:9-12 Who Shows Us The Bride, Part 2

[Study Aired July 20, 2025]

Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

We paused our last study with the promise to give you the scriptures which demonstrate with the spirit and power (1Co 2:4) that we are now being judged and being crucified with Christ daily. As such, the angel with the seven last plagues which shows us this revelation of Jesus Christ signifies the church and the body of Christ. If these verses are true then judgment begins with us, and we are the first to be judged in this present time, and we are the first to die with Christ in this present age. Having been judged in this age, we will be raised up in “the resurrection of life” at the first resurrection at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of “our Lord and His Christ”(Rev 11:15).

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the [first] resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: Krisis, judgment, the great white throne judgment].

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Therefore, the great white throne judgment will not be judging us, and the lake of fire which is the second death will not hurt nor have power over us:

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The great white throne judgment/lake of fire is the second death:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Here are just a few of the verses which make the point that the Lord’s elect are dying in this age and are being judged in this age:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [Aorist tense] into Jesus Christ were baptized [Aorist tense] into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with [Aorist tense] him by baptism into death: that like as Christ [the firstfruit] was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we [“a kind of firstfruits”, Jas 1:18] also should walk in newness of life.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits [Rev 14:4] of his creatures.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

This angel with one of the seven vials full of the wrath of God is you and me. This angel is the body of Christ and the church, which is His body. It is we who are given to show these things, “this mystery, to every man… in his own order.” It is you and me who are made aware that we must “read, hear, and keep” the things in this revelation:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Knowing that this revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” within each of us is what is called “the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God.”

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

This secret was “hid in God… from the beginning… to the intent that now by the church might be known the manifold wisdom of God… who will have all men to be saved” (1Ti 2:4).

That is what this angel is revealing to us:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Our “fellow servant and our brothers that have the testimony of Jesus” signify “His body the church” (Col 1:24).

What does this angel, the body of Christ, show us?

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

It is only “in the spirit” that we can see “that great city, the holy Jerusalem.” ‘Carried me away in the spirit’ and “showed me that great city’ are both in the aorist tense indicating that these things are ongoing. If we are this angel, God’s elect, and if we are fellowservants who keep the sayings of this prophecy, how are we carried away in the spirit, and how are we given to carry others away in the spirit to see these same things? To answer that question, it will help to know one of the Biblical definitions of what is the spirit. What is the spirit with which you and I are “carried away” and what is the spirit with which we, signified by this angel, carry others  away in the spirit? This is how that is accomplished by the spirit:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

There it is. It is the Word of God which carries His elect away to a great and high mountain, and it is only from that “great and high mountain” that we are given to see that great city, the holy Jerusalem.

Our next logical question should be, “what is this great and high mountain”.

Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

It is “the mountain of the Lord’s house” which smites the image on its feet and destroys that image. Where is this “house of the Lord?” Where is that mountain which destroys the image of our old man and becomes a kingdom which fills our whole earth? While there is indeed a dispensational application to these prophecies, if we do not first apply these prophecies inwardly while in these clay vessels, then we will not be given part in their dispensational application as resurrected spirits ruling with Christ over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15). Here is the only place we will ever find “that great and high mountain and that great city, the holy Jerusalem.”

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is [first] within you.

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end [of this age], to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

There it is; “the great and high mountain”, the only place from which we are shown “that great city, the holy Jerusalem.” It is “the mountain of the Lord’s house” within all who abide in His Words in this age. What is that house? Once again we are forced by the Word of God to acknowledge that “the kingdom of God is within us”, and this revelation of Jesus Christ first takes place within us.

What are we to see within those who make up and comprise the holy Jerusalem?

Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

It is by “the glory of God: and her light like a stone most precious, clear as a crystal” that we see within “the mountain of the house of God”. What then is this “glory of God?”

Joh 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Joh 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

“Certain Greeks” wanted to see Jesus, and Jesus’ answer was “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” How is this answer related to the request of these Helenistic Jews to “see Jesus?” What Christ is telling Andrew and Philip is that the only way to really ‘see’ Him is in His glorified body as Paul made clear:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

How would that be done? There is only one way to be glorified and “have the glory of God” as the bride of the Lamb. What is it that glorifies any man? Here it is for any and all who can receive it:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto [glorified] life eternal.

This is how Christ is glorifying us:

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious [glorified] church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

It is “the washing of water by the Word” which cleanses and makes the bride of Christ glorious and glorified. What does that Word tell us will bring us glory?

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

How did God go about glorifying Christ? Here again is how He and we are glorified. This is how the holy Jerusalem is glorious within us.

Joh 13:30 He then [Judas] having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
Joh 13:31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
Joh 13:32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

We always come back to the same Biblical definition of glory and being glorified, and that definition is always the same.

Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

There is only one thing which will cause us to “suffer with and be reproached for the name of Christ” and that is to remain faithful to Him and His doctrine:

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Christ has given us His doctrine, and it is the act of being faithful to His doctrine which will cause us to be hated and persecuted of all men:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 13:21 tells us that tribulation and persecution arises “because of the Word”.  John 17:14 warns us that the world will hate us because Christ “has given [us] His Word” and Matthew 10:22 assures us that we will be hated of all men “for [Christ’s] name sake”.

‘Christ’s name’s sake’ is just another way of saying “persecution arising because of [His] word”, because of His doctrine. It is that persecution and tribulation which tries our faith which to our heavenly Father is so precious, so pure and as clear as glass”, and so ‘glorious’.

Now we can much better understand this, our Lord’s statement:

Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

It is a rare person indeed who sees what this “glory of God” is and desires to attain to this glorified state. That is the very meaning of “having the glory of God…. being a stone most precious and being clear as crystal”.

Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; [Glorious… having the glory of God]

It is the very fact that so few are given to appreciate this precious, rare and clear “glory of God”, which serves as “a wall great and high.”

This “high wall” is nothing but the very mind and ways of God, which walls out and closes the gates on the natural carnal minds of the masses of humanity who will just naturally choose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil over “the way of the tree of life.” So we are told:

Rev 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

This is what is signified by “a wall great and high”.

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It is God’s thoughts and His ways which form the “great and high wall” which surrounds the holy Jerusalem and makes us the bride… most precious… the Lamb’s wife. It is “the mind of Christ”, God’s ways that are so much higher than the ways of our natural man. It is Christ’s mind and His ways in His bride which also comprise the glory that is seen within that great city, which ‘city’ we are.

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

This ‘glory’, this crystal clear glory was not available to anyone until after Christ was glorified:

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast [signifying the events leading up to the great white throne judgment], Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) [Aorist tense, Had not yet been crucified and resurrected, which continues to take place within His body the church]

If Christ has taken up His residence in us then we, too, are ‘being glorified.’ Christ was ‘glorified’ through dying for our sins and our afflictions. We fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake, which is the church, by enduring His persecutions and afflictions in our own bodies “because as He is so are we in this world.”

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Our sufferings and afflictions are as much “for His body’s sake, which is the church” as the sufferings of Christ Himself because:

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

We just read in 1Peter 4:17 that “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” and now Paul tells us that our sufferings and afflictions are just as much for the church which is His body as the afflictions of Christ Himself… because as He is so are we in this world (1Jo 4:17).

The use here of the number twelve signifies to us that we are part of the very foundations of this great city, which will one day have within it all the glory of the spiritual Gentiles who now think of themselves as Jews, when they are not but do lie.

Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

We have seen in our study on the twelve thousand which are from each of the twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation chapters 7 and 14, that those 144,000 are just one more symbol of those who are the Christ of Christ. The same is true for these twelve gates, entering into this holy city. Here is the URL to our study on the spiritual significance of the number 12:

Numbers: Twelve/

These twelve gates to the New Jerusalem are merely one more symbol of those to whom this entire prophecy is addressed. They are the elect of God, through whom all men of all time will come to our Lord and His Father.

Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Here it is stated a clearly as it can be stated.

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The only pillars in the tabernacle of Moses were five pillars located at the door of the tabernacle, and another four pillars at the door of the holy of holies through which all men will come to God:

Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
Exo 26:37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

Ours is the greatest calling that can be given to mankind. This city with its twelve gates are those who have ”the name of the city of God, which is new Jerusalem” written upon them, and as the 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, we will also be the pillars through whom all mankind will be shown the mercy which we have been shown. Being a pillar in the temple of God is the same as being one of the twelve gates to “the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God.” It is through these pillars and these gates that all men will be saved:

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy [12 gates] they also may obtain mercy.

The mercy of God upon all who come up at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death will come through us as those twelve gates and those nine pillars, is made clear in the very next verse.

Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

We are compelled to exclaim with the apostle:

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

In our next study, if the Lord, wills we will look into the following verses:

Rev 21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Rev 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

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Rev 11:15-19, Part 2 – The Seventh Trumpet

Now Is Come Salvation

[Study Aired Nov 15, 2024]

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great;   and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

In our last study we took note of the fact that the seventh trumpet is the only event among all the seven seals, all the seven trumpets, and all seven vials, which does not immediately describe the actions which this trumpet produces. Notice how this seventh trumpet, unlike any of the other six trumpets, is first alluded to in chapter 10:

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

We are told that this trumpet eventually fulfills the mystery of God, but the same verse 7 of chapter 10 also reveals that this seventh trumpet is a process which requires a certain number of days to be fulfilled.

In chapter 11 we are actually given the fruit which is produced by this seventh trumpet… “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ”, but before the kingdoms of this world can become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, it is revealed that a “manchild”, who was “to rule the nations with a rod of iron” must first be born of a harlot woman, which ‘woman’ was to spend “a thousand two hundred and sixty days in the wilderness, while her “manchild” was caught up unto God and His throne”.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

But before that manchild can become mature he must first come to see himself as the beast of Revelation 13, which arises up out of the sea of all flesh. He then matures into “a second beast with two horns like a lamb, but which speaks as a dragon:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

“The earth and them that dwell therein” includes you and me and all the rest of mankind:

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Three sixes is not the number of “a man”. There is no article in the Greek. The Greek simply reads…”it is the number of anthropos…” and ‘anthropos’ is the Greek word for ‘mankind’. Mankind’s creation began on the sixth day along with all the rest of the beasts of this earth. Consequently ‘mankind’ has been branded with the number six, signifying his incomplete state ever since the beginning of his creation:

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Being ‘incomplete’, which is the spiritual significance of the number ‘6’, mankind is universally afflicted with the false doctrine of “free will”. Mankind is therefore incapable of understanding that he must be brought to “cease from his own works as God did from His”, before he can “enter into the Lord’s rest” and thereby become complete, which is the spiritual significance of the number seven:

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

The thirteenth chapter of Revelation reveals that the Lord’s Christ must come to see himself as an incomplete and hopeless beast before he can enter into the Lord’s rest and be complete in the Lord, who is in the process of making man in His image. But there is chapters 14 and 15 still to be revealed to the Lord’s elect before he can enter into His rest.

Revelation 14 begins with a snapshot of the completed product, 144,000, of “the firstfruits unto God and the  Lamb:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault [they are the complete and finished product] before the throne of God.

However, mankind cannot be completed by the work of this all important seventh trumpet, until he has been judged, because God’s judgments, whether in this age or in the great white throne judgment, always teach men to become righteous:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

To that end, Revelation 14 tells us of the work of the three angels ‘flying in the midst of our heavens’. ‘Three’ signifies the process of being judged.

These three spirits are working our judgment in our heavens. The first angel brings the gospel to us. That good news includes the fact that “the hour of His judgment is come” upon us. The second angel destroys the very foundations of Babylon in our lives, and the third angel’s work is to pour out the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God upon us, and to torment the Lord’s very elect with the fire and brimstone which is His Word and His doctrines. That torment and judgment takes place “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of The Lamb”. The work of this third angel causes the smoke of our torment to ascend up for the eons of the eons giving us no rest day nor night while there is any tendency at all to worship the beast and his image within us:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, [Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:]
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

The work of the third and final angel concludes with these words, which let us know exactly to whom these words are addressed:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The point that is being made is the imminence of the work of this seventh trumpet. “NOW is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ”.

This inheritance is all ours even now but only in down payment form.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest [the downpayment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

For all who are “found worthy” to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection, this kingdom and this reign is now. “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Rev 12:10)

The judgment of Revelation 14 is the judgment of “the very elect” and it is the product of the pouring out of the seven last plagues of the Lord’s wrath upon the kingdom of the beast within the Lord’s elect which is described in great detail in Revelation 15-16. That ‘wrath of God’ is His judgment which transforms the beast within the Lord’s elect into the four beasts and the four and twenty elders of Revelation four and five.

Where are the four and twenty elders?

Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

When we know what the four beasts and the four and twenty elders symbolize, we need not to even ask that question, because the four beasts and the four and twenty elders symbolize one and the same thing. Asking ‘where are the four beasts’ is like asking ‘what happened to the seven cows’ of Pharaoh’s dream, while discussing the the seven ears of corn. The cows and the corn are both symbols of the one point that is being made. There will be seven years of plenty, to be followed by seven years of famine.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

So too, the beasts and the elders are one. The seven angels and the seven priests are one, and in this entire prophecy God is showing us what the Lord is about to do.

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

And what is God about to do? It is the very next verse, and it is to be “read… heard… and kept, for the time is at hand”.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Christ has “given us a kingdom” just as His Father has given Him a kingdom, and like Him we are to “reign on the earth… for the time is at hand.” “Every creature in heaven and on earth” will worship God, and the four beasts do so continually.

Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Those who have been given “eyes within” know that the four beasts are always worshiping God

Rev 19:4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

But when is this worship emphasized and made especially evident? It is especially evident at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the kingdoms of this world “within” is seen by those who are “full of eyes within” to fall and “become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ”.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

What a wonderful day that is when the conquering king takes control of His own rightful kingdom which has been in the hands of wicked husbandmen for so long. Everyone will, in their own time, bow their knee and confess that our Lord is Lord over the man of sin “to the glory of God”.

Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Every part of our being rejoices at the time of this great event.

Rev 5:13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

God’s wrath is, was, and will come before the dead are judged

Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

How few it is that realize that they are born and live their lives under the wrath of God until the day they believe on Christ. If “the time of the dead that they should be judged” means the resurrection that immediately precedes the millennium, and you do not experience the death and resurrection which is the revelation of Jesus Christ here and now, then you will not be in that resurrection that immediately precedes the millennium, and you will not be one of the priests and kings who will rule with Christ over the kingdoms of this world.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

This truth is demonstrated with two verses of scripture. It is a rare person who even sees the apparent contradiction between these two verses of God’s Word.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is “in judgment” that God pours out His wrath upon all of our ungodliness and unrighteousness. Let’s read it again: “keep the things that are written therein, for the time is at hand… and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged…” (Rev 11:18).

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Death must precede judgment. Only those who are “full of eyes within” can even begin to see that those who “are appointed once to die and then be judged” are us. It is we who are the first to die to our old man through the judgment of our old man, and that dying and that judgment has begun at the house of God and we must “die daily” and be crucified with Christ daily:

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

It is we who are “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), and it is we who are “buried with Him in baptism” (Rom 6:3-4), even as we live and are being judged in these dying “earthen vessels”.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The ‘world’ that is within us and the ‘world’ that is without us are both bent on the destruction of “the seed of the woman”,  (Rev 12:5). There are many other titles given to the “seed of the woman” who is also called “a manchild who is to rule the world with a rod of iron”, but they are all titles of “the very elect” of God.

Rev 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

While God is in the process of destroying our old Adam by replacing him with a “New Adam” who is called “the last Adam”, it is not our prerogative to “destroy the earth”. That is a task that has been delegated to those who are called ‘the seed of the serpent’ and are said by our Lord to be “of their Father the devil”.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Who is it that our Lord says will bruise His heel? Who is it that seeks to destroy the manchild as soon as he is born? It is each of us when we are “those Jews which believe on Christ, but are still “of our Father the devil”.

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

This is us when we were “of our father the devil”, even as we thought we “believed on Christ”. This is us when our “man of sin” is standing in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God. This is us as the wrath of God is being poured out upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness and we are made to admit that “I am the man” (2Sa 12:7). This is us when we come to see that “Them that destroy the earth” are those who are seeking the life of our Lord Himself.

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

What is found within the ark of His covenant?

Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

These are the closing words of the introduction of the seventh trumpet. “The temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his temple the ark of His testament.”

What was in the ark in the temple of God? Here is the first and the last account of the contents of what “was seen in His temple [in] the ark of His testament”.

Deu 10:5  And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.

1Ki 8:9  There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Within the ark of the covenant was the law of God. That was the basis upon which the covenant was contracted. Israel contracted with God to keep His laws, and our Lord agreed to be their God. That is the same way we are married to our Lord today. That is how we become His bride. We agree to “do the things He says… and fulfill the law of Christ”. If we don’t do the things He says, then we are not His wife, and He is not our Lord.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

That is what is meant by “there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament”. If we have our Lord living within us, then we will be doing the things He says and we will be doing “the will of our Father which is in heaven”. It is “the things which He says” which are the “lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake”. It is “the things which He says” which are the “great hail” which will “sweep away the refuge of lies”.

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Summary

We have seen that “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” is primarily to be understood as first happening within, as the image we are is destroyed by Christ as we decrease daily and He increases daily within us.

We have seen that “our Lord and His Christ” is speaking of us as those who are anointed of and are sent out by Christ, just as He was anointed of and sent out by His Father to save this world.

We have demonstrated that the four beasts and the four and twenty elders are one and the same symbol of God’s elect, just as the cows and corn both meant the same thing in Pharaoh’s dreams. Thus, when we are told that the four and twenty elders fall down and worship God when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, we are being told that the four beasts also fall down and worship our Lord and our God.

We have seen that it is God’s Word which is the fire of His wrath which is, was and will be poured out upon all of our ungodliness and unrighteousness, and we saw that this is all being announced and being done even as we are beginning to take the land away from the giants who have for so long dominated our land. This is the significance of the imminent judgment in every generation which is this seventh trumpet, which has already begun to take the kingdom of this world and “by little and by little” transform it into the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.

Finally, we saw that this is all accomplished by the Words of our Lord being within us and destroying by its great ‘heat’ all that can be burned out of us, as we learn to “do the things that our Lord says”.

Next week, Lord willing, we will begin to see what we are given to understand in the first of the four chapters which separate this introduction of this seventh trumpet from the chapter which reveals to us the exact nature of the judgments of the seven last plagues of this seventh trumpet. It will be the beginning of chapter twelve, concerning the woman, the manchild she is prophesied to bring forth, and the dragon who is right there seeking to destroy that manchild.